Warhammer Divine Throne-Chapter 636 - 280, Grenelle Town_2

They are the Holy Grail Knights, the pillars and backbone of this country.

"Make way! Make way for the grail knights!" The peasants and a few free people were celebrating, while the knights defending the town were already riding their horses and galloping through the town streets, roaring arrogantly at the peasants to clear the way, as they were blocking the path of the esteemed Holy Grail Knights!

The commanding knight high above snapped his whip heavily onto the bodies of several peasants unwilling to clear the road, causing their flesh to roll back and bleed profusely.

"Stop!" Francois shouted angrily, "What are you doing?!"

"Holy Grail Knight, it's these peasants! These peasants are blocking your way!" The guard knight paused, rushing to explain.

"Compensate these gentlemen with medical expenses, Mr. Knight." Francois's face showed slight anger, "Right now!"

"Y-yes!" Seeing this, the guard knight quickly admitted his mistake. He took a handful of silver coins from his person and threw them at the faces of the injured peasants: "Come on~ Quickly thank the Holy Grail Knight for his gifts and mercy!" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Yes! Thank the Master Knight, thank the Master Knight of the Holy Grail!" The injured peasants received this unexpected wealth and left joyously.

The guard knight's face was filled with fervent admiration as he spoke to Laine and Francois, "May I ask, esteemed Holy Grail Knights, what brings you to Grenelle?"

Jerald and Julius were ignored, Francois's cousin and son glanced at each other, filled with envy and helplessness.

"I am Laine Macado, the Divine Chosen Champion of the Lady," Laine said calmly.

"I am Francois, Francois-André-Tancrède de Winford," Francois also said calmly, "Hello."

"Ah! It's the Champion of the Lady and Mr. Francois, a pleasure to meet you both!" The guard knight's mouth opened wide, startled.

"We have received the Lady's oracle, and have a task to complete, so we will be staying here tonight." Laine's tone was very indifferent, "The content of the task is secret, you only need to lead us to a town inn to stay."

"Yes!" The guard knight wished to inquire further, but upon hearing it was the Lake Fairy's oracle, he immediately closed his mouth. He led Laine and the others to a place within the town: "Please follow me!"

Laine's pure white gold goblet cloak and Francois's blue-background pure white Pegasus cloak fluttered in the air, as they followed the guard knight, leaving behind enough stories for the townspeople to discuss for days.

......

Three hours later, Grenelle, Baron Feist's mansion.

This is a small two-story mansion, inhabited by the guard knight from earlier, Baron Feist, who resides in this auxiliary residence within the town. Baron Feist had naturally heard of Laine and Francois's renown, and immediately vacated his winter residence for Laine and his group to stay, while he returned to the castle.

After simply placing down luggage and belongings, both Laine and Francois, possessing space rings, had minimal burdens. Laine provided feed and black beans to several pure-blooded elf warhorses, glanced at the night sky under the heavy clouds and thick fog, exhaled cold air, and added more fodder to the stable: "Come on, Grape, eat well, grow well~"

"Neigh~" Grape evidently understood what Laine was saying, the pure-blooded elf warhorse extended its front hoof and gently touched Laine's arm, whinnying discontentedly.

I'm already a mature warhorse, I don't need you to tell me.

"Hahaha~" Laine reached out and stroked Grape's mane, and only then did Grape enjoyably rub its face against Laine's.

"Laine, are you finished? Come in." Francois stood at the door, the Duke called to Laine: "They don't quite understand how to cook, so I'll have to trouble you."

"Alright, I'll be right there." Laine patted Grape's head again and turned to enter the mansion. In the kitchen, two pots of stew were simmering, the center of the house piled with firewood inside which a pie and a pork haunch were roasting.

In Brittania, it is believed that only the nobility have the privilege to "waste" food and enjoy various spices.

Of the few present, only Laine and Francois had long-term experiences traveling outside, Laine as a Ranger Knight and Kingdom Knight but Francois as an Expedition Knight on the Path of the Holy Grail for many years, being recognized by the Lake Fairy before becoming a Holy Grail Knight.

The two stood together in the kitchen cooking, Francois said with great interest: "I haven't cooked myself for several months, and now it's with you, Laine. I heard from Surya that you're not bad at cooking, so let me taste it this time."

The kitchen was reasonably clean and tidy, thick grease adhered to the floor, the stove burning hotly, and the stew in the pot making "gululu" noises. The walls were hung with pots and pans, in front of Laine hung rows of spoons from smallest to largest, while in front of Francois were garlic, onions, several pieces of smoked meat and fish, as well as a few seasonings.

"Thump thump thump~" Francois held a kitchen knife, chopping up cabbage, while Laine was handling the stew with a large spoon, adding seasoning.

"Last year, what was your revenue from your territory?" Francois asked casually, the Duke was now family with Laine, didn't need to be so formal, and saved much courtesy.

"About 4,500 gold crowns, of which 2,000 gold crowns went into various salaries and military expenses, 500 gold crowns was for my personal expenses, leaving roughly 2,000 gold crowns." Laine nodded and replied, "In addition, a large quantity of grain was sent, including more than a dozen tons of wheat, barley, rye, soybeans, carrots, peas, lentils, and other grains. I had to arrange for two new warehouses to be built."

"If your territory faces war now, how long could it sustain?" asked Francois again.

"The castle's stored grains and savings combined can sustain for about a year and a half, if considering my personal wealth, it could support around three years." Laine stirred the delicious stew and replied offhandedly.

"That's really quite good, Laine. You've managed to govern the entire territory like this in less than a year, quite astonishing, ladies bless!" Jerald held a long wooden handle, the front end being a circular flat surface, standing before the bread oven, using the handle to flip the bread inside the oven.

Julius was still roasting pork haunch on the mansion's first floor.

"Prepare plenty of grain reserves and also ensure you have enough gold coin reserves, Laine." Francois nodded, the Duke himself was very satisfied with Laine's financial and internal affairs abilities, using a guiding tone: "Sufficient grain reserves ensure your army always maintains a strong fighting force, gold coin reserves allow you to timely summon troops and issue adequate pay, even hire imperial mercenaries in emergencies. Keep the aged grains every three years cleared out. Remember, every approaching limit of three years of aged grains, you can distribute them as relief and festival gifts to the dominion people, instead of letting them expire uneaten, better let them have a full meal. These aged grains must not be sold to merchants, who will resell them to peasants and make profits."

"I understand," nodded Laine, quite aware of these matters, "Thanks to trade with the Wood Elves and workshops from Dwarf brothers, they bring me an income of over 1,500 gold crowns annually, continuously attracting merchants and outsiders settling in my territory."

"The nobles of the Duchy often visit your territory for medical treatment," Francois smiled, "In the name of the Lady, diseases and corruption are effectively controlled."

"Without the medicine from the Wood Elves, this hospital couldn't open," Laine placed the stew into a copper pot, thinking that the Baron was indeed wealthy to have a copper pot at home.

Having prepared a grand meal, all four knights sat in the mansion's first floor dining room, Francois took out a bottle of aperitif.

"Thank the Lady for granting me food."

"Dinner's ready!"

Just then, the mansion's door sounded.

"Thud thud thud~"